WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett claims AJ Styles was essentially “forced out” of IMPACT Wrestling before joining WWE.
Jarrett recently took to his podcast, “My World” and touched on Styles departing from IMPACT in 2014. This was just as Jarrett was making his exit from the company towards the end of 2013.
The WWE Hall of Famer notes Styles’ money was being cut, but the promotion didn’t want to cut his dates. IMPACT also began treating Styles, one of the founding pillars of the promotion, rather harshly, essentially forcing him to make the move to leave.
“I resigned December 21, 2013. In early December is when the Carter’s put the nail in the coffin for me and Toby (Keith) to acquire majority interest. We knew it was game, set, match.
“It was not happening. I knew I had to go. I knew Dixie’s position on all of it because of the, for lack of a better word, the financial de-spiral the company was in.
“AJ’s money was getting cut. They wanted to cut AJ’s money but not dates. He said, ‘If you cut my money, I’m cutting my dates.’ It was not just AJ’s contract. It was everybody’s. He was a complete, utter mess.
“AJ was so willing to commit to the product that he was willing to re-sign. I found this out later. They said some awful things and had devalued AJ. They basically forced AJ against his will to leave.
“That’s how committed AJ Styles was to the brand. He was TNA through and through. He had to be essentially forced out.”
Styles had been with IMPACT since 2002. Over the course of his career with the promotion, he racked up a plethora of titles and accolades, including two TNA World Heavyweight Championship runs, six X Division Title wins, and a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
After departing from IMPACT in 2014, Styles made appearances for Ring Of Honor (ROH), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and various independent promotions. However, in January of 2016, Styles finally made his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble.
“Road Dogg was very instrumental in bringing AJ into WWE because of his position at the time with the company.
“AJ was such a tried and true, and committed to his core. He was going to go back to IMPACT with Doc and Karl before he signed with WWE. He was that committed to the brand.”
Quotes via WrestlingNews.co